The Bat and the Thief
by persian85033
Summary: Could there be more of her mother in Helena than Terry would like?
1. Chapter 1

"So why did you tell me?"Terry asked Helena.

Terry and Helena sat in what she always referred to as her own private sitting room. She said she always liked to receive people comfortable in familiar settings.

They'd only found out they half-brother and –sister recently. Her mother was Lady Selina, who had also been Catwoman, and sometimes he worried she may have inherited more than her love of cats from her mother. Ever since Helena hinted that she wanted something very badly, he'd been worried about her. Especially since whenever she talked about anything like that, her cat would purr happily, and he'd noticed the cat would sometimes display what Helena felt.

Just what could she want so much that she couldn't have? Especially as her mother's only child, she could have anything she ever asked for. Even her own suite of rooms to herself.

He'd been trying to get her to tell him just what she was after for days. But he hadn't been able to get anything out of her.

"Because I _feel_."she answered. "I feel."

"You feel what?"

"I don't know. Usually I can't tell people anything. Something holds me back, and just that same something told me I should tell you."

"Why? Why me?"

_Perhaps_, he though, _this was a way in which she was asking for help?_ He'd kept a close eye on her, ever since she'd first hinted at it, but she hadn't done anything so far. It could be she didn't want to do it, but it had become an obsession she couldn't get rid of?

The only thing he'd seen was that apparently, she was a night person. He could always see the lights turned on, or even very dim, or when they were turned off, he could see that she was very active. Doing he wasn't sure what. Sometimes it looked like reading, others she just seemed to walk around the room. But he knew she was in the room, that she never went out.

"I don't think I really know myself. Mina trusted you."she continued. "Since the first day she saw you, she liked you. Mina trusts you, so I trust you, too."

Terry sighed.

"I think you spend way too much times with your cats."he said. "You trust me just because one of them likes me? What if none of them did? What then? What if they made a mistake, and liked someone who was-"

"Animals don't make those kinds of mistakes, Terry."Helena interrupted, quietly, shaking her head. "But if they didn't trust you, I think I would have to at least want to know why. I would still want to get to know you. It would be one of the few times, if not the _only_ time, I would question their judgment. But it would take me a long time to trust you, maybe."

"Then I guess it's a good thing they like me, isn't it?"

Helena missed the sarcasm.

"It is, I guess."

"But if you trust me, why don't you just tell me everything? You still haven't shown me your collection, or told me what you're planning to add to it."Terry pointed out.

Helena nodded.

"You've been trying to get me to tell you for days and days. I can tell you it's something I've been preparing for, practically my entire life."she said, looking very serious.

"Preparing?"

Noticing that he looked as though he were expecting her to say more, she added, "But that's all I can tell you. It's not just anything. It's something very special. And I've spent days and days thinking just how I'm going to go about it."

At least she had told him she'd been preparing for it. Could that be what she was up to each night? Not going out, but preparing to go out instead?

"Go about what?"he insisted. "Have you figured out how you're going to go about it, whatever it is?"

She didn't answer for a few minutes.

"You're not going to tell me anything else, are you?"he finally said.

Helena shook her head.

"No,"she said. "I'm not. And no matter what you say or do, you won't get me to tell you, until _I _decide to, so you won't get anything out of me. I'm more stubborn than seven mules. So…I'd give up if I were you?"

"Well, you're not me. I'm pretty stubborn, too."

Helena looked up.

"Are you?"she asked.

Terry thought she might add that she would add he wasn't more stubborn than her. And she was just as determined not to tell him, as he was to getting her to tell him. Instead she just stared, and remained silent.

"Is it because your cats don't trust me enough that they don't want you to tell me?"he added sarcastically.

Helena didn't answer, but smiled, and fondly stroke Adela.

"There's no need for you to take that attitude towards them or me. Or speak to us in that tone. Like I said, I trust their judgment, but I am fully capable of making my choices. I choose not to tell you. For reasons of my own."

"Can you tell me the reasons, at least?"Terry insisted.

He obviously wasn't going to get any more out of her. At least not now. But that didn't mean he would give up.

Helena looked thoughtful.

"Well, one is that like I said, I'm fairly private about some things. Another…I want nothing to stop me. A person knowing about it may interfere, and like I said, it's something I've wanted my whole life. Besides, I don't trust you that much. At least not just yet."


	2. Chapter 2

Helena looked out one of the windows. She loved to see the sun set. Soon it would disappear behind the horizon, she knew. She saw the last rays die out, and looking up.

A few of her cats turned their eyes towards the window, and gazed for a moment absent mindedly, before turning away. Some looked up for a few minutes.

Helena went through her clothes. Instead of looking critically at them, and discarding some as she usually did, she seemed to know just what she was looking for right away. She selected something from among her clothes.

"Black."she said. "Black so I can blend in among the shadows."

Adela, as a black cat, could also blend in. And her eyes and ears could spot things Helena's own couldn't.

It wouldn't do to go out through the door, she thought, so opened one of the windows, and went out through there. Both she and Adela looked around, and Helena began walking away, with Adela wrapped around her shoulders.

Terry watched as someone climbed out the window. It stood still for a minute, just outside the window. Instead of climbing down, it jumped, and in the light of the full moon, he saw it clearly. Oh, no! It was her.

Looking unconcerned, Helena began to walk. She looked calm, even excited. Whatever it was, he could see she had figured it out all ready, like she had said that afternoon. Now she would just have to do it. Add whatever she had wanted so much to her collection.

"Since when does Helena wear black?"he asked himself.

He almost didn't recognize her. That was very unusual for her. Terry had never seen her wearing black. Or grey even. Or dress in something so practical. She usually dressed in only the latest fashion.

This was the first time he'd ever seen her wear something so…ordinary. He'd never seen her without her long, dangling earrings, and combs in her hair. Her hair was pulled back, as always, though. He also saw she didn't go anywhere where the any light could hit her. She kept strictly to the shadows.

He noticed that she had only one cat with her. Usually she took at least two wherever she went. And whichever cat it was, it wore no collar.

That was the only way to tell the cats apart. By learning what color collar, and what charms they wore. Although Helena switched the charms pretty often, she had so many. He'd never ceased to wonder just how Helena kept track, he had no idea. Just as she switched them, maybe she took them off when they slept.

But both the cat and Helena looked perfectly calm. As though they were only going on a mid night stroll. He really hoped they were. And her outfit, maybe it was just because it was dark out, and she liked to dress to…match the night. It could just be one of her quirks.

She walked further away, she seemed to just be wondering. Further and further. The only thing that indicated she had a sure destination was her expression.

"It's a very quiet night."she observed, whispered to Adela. "But still, anything you see or hear…"

Adela purred in response.

Finally, she stopped, and took a seat on what looked like a stone bench. Adela also climbed down from her shoulders, and into her lap. Helena took the cat, and stroked her.

Maybe she really was just taking a mid night walk, and stopped to take a rest before going back. She hadn't really gone anywhere. After this, she would certainly go back. He would be glad to have been wrong.

Even though Adela was wrapped against Helena's shoulders, Helena could see the position of the cat's ears. Adela was obviously alert, and was hearing something behind them.

Helena thought perhaps they were being followed. She contained her own curiosity, and did everything she could to stop from turning and looking in the direction in which the cat's ears were listening.

She knew, however, that it was nothing dangerous. Nothing too dangerous. Otherwise, Adela would already have let her know. It was probably only something that had caught her interest, and of little consequence, so Helena kept going, but keeping an eye on her cat. That the cat seemed so concentrated on whatever it was made had made her uneasy.

"Maybe we'd better go back! Maybe it really isn't safe here."she looked around. "Although I still haven't seen anyone. Maybe we'd better find another route to take."

The cat meowed. Helena turned back.

"Maybe we could ask Mère for help!"she said to Adela. "She would definitely know! If anyone knows, it would be her!"

Terry knew Helena wouldn't speak English. She had only Adela with her, and she always spoke to her cats in Aragonese. They responded quicker to it. So he hadn't really expected to understand a word she said. Merely record and hoped the computer translate, and find out that way.


	3. Chapter 3

"What's taking so long?"asked Terry. "Maybe we could just find someone else who speaks it."he suggested.

"Modern Aragonese is the only remaining language derived from the medieval Navarro-Aragonese dialect."Bruce explained.

"Medieval?! How did it survive that long!"

"Individual isoglosses developed in the valleys."

"Maybe we could just find someone else who speaks it."Terry suggested.

"Native speakers are very few. Only about five thousand speakers, and mostly in valleys in the Pyrenesse mountains. Aragonese is only spoken natively in a few cities in the province, and a couple of others as a second language. And there are about twenty different dialects."

"And Helena just had to happen to be one of those people. And choose to talk exactly in that."

"Who could have been following us, Adela?" Helena asked. "Was it someone you know?"

She had hoped maybe the footsteps had caught the cat's attention because she'd heard them before. However, the cat gave no sign that she had recognized them.

"You know this place well, Mom?" Helena asked Selina the next day.

"Probably not so much any more. The city's changed so much."Selina answered.

Helena nodded.

"I still haven't seen anything that resembles the pictures or the descriptions you've told me." Helena said. "I don't think the people do, either."

Selina smiled.

"The people I really wouldn't expect to stay the same at all, Kitten."

"No. Do they keep much order?"

"Order?"

Helena didn't usually read newspapers, watch news, or anything like that. Selina was surprised she would ask about something like that.

"I've noticed the houses here don't have…fences."she explained to her mother. "I remember a lot of them did, when they were in a city where the crime rate was very high. And they were very tall. The windows also had some…gates, or bars in front? Window screens like rails. The wealthiest ones, anyway."

"Well, yes."

Fortunately, Helena knew none of what she said would bother her, as she listened to her mother's voice.

"-for safety. Not that it would ever stop someone from getting in if they wanted, but it would certainly make it harder."

"But there are none here."said Helena . "All the architecture is different. But not really very safe. Not really."

"It's in different levels, Helena . The wealthier of the population live on the uppermost levels. You know that. It's common enough, perhaps not as much in cities or towns with a smaller population, but among some of the bigger cities, yes."Selina told her.

Helena stayed silent for a while.

"It would be safer here? You would go…lower, to the lower level in town, and you find…"she didn't know how to express what she was trying to say. "you could find more people?"she finally settled for. "Would you?"

"Of course you would find people."

"But you really wouldn't find many…law keepers here, would you? Like I said you would have to go to the lower levels, wouldn't you? You would find more cops and that there than here?"

"I would think so."Selina answered. "Are you worried because you haven't seen them here?"

"I don't care to see cops, or mingle with them, either." Helena replied. "I was only trying to find out. I think I expected something a little different."she sighed. "It's different,"she finished.

She picked up one of her magazines and leafed through it, not really reading it, but simply leafing aimlessly through it. Well, she hadn't really thought cops would follow anyone.

She knew in some places, anyone was safe from them if they carried money. Maybe they took money here as well?she wondered. And if they did, then…?

But no. Money may not do her any good in this case, she thought. It would only be good if she carried some with her in case of an emergency, she decided

So much for that idea, she thought to herself, and discarded it from her mind. She would have to find another way.


	4. Chapter 4

Terry looked at Adela. The cat was curled up among the cushions. He thought it was a pity he couldn't ask it what Helena had told it the night before. Apart from Helena herself, they were probably the only ones who understood everything she said. He didn't doubt that she told them everything.

As though sensing his gaze, the cat awoke from her nap, and opened her eyes to look at him.

Helena looked up, noticing her cat's reaction. Normally, she would have demanded to know just what the person had done to upset her.

"Why is she suddenly upset? Did you do something to her?"she asked Terry.

"I wouldn't know."

The cat left her spot among the cushions, and ran to her owner. No one else seemed to want to reclaim the place where Adela had been dozing off.

"Oh. Well, I don't think anyone likes to be awoken from their naps. That includes pets."Helena said. "You woke her."

"I didn't mean to. I didn't do anything. I don't think I've never played a game of chess quite like this one before."he said. "With solid gold and silver pieces, and those look like some kind of gems."

Playing chess, Helena focused her complete attention on the game. That she didn't know what had upset her cat, meant she was most likely completely absorbed.

"Emeralds."Helena said, absent mindedly. "I don't think you'll find another like it. Mère had this made especially for me, and sometimes she can get a bit carried away. Like she wants to make it up to me, because I didn't, you know, I was always different from other girls my age. But that doesn't matter to me."she said. "The same reason she's always trying to talk in anything I feel most comfortable with, instead of English."she smiled.

Terry looked up.

"Lady Selina doesn't talk to you in English?"he asked. "I never noticed her talk to you in anything different."

"When there are other people around and that's what they speak, yes."Helena answered. "When there's no one around, no. Or whenever there are people around, we talk in whatever they can understand. It's bad manners to talk in something people don't understand, isn't it?"

"What does she talk to you in?"

Helena looked up.

"Mère can only speak few languages well. But she knows how good it feels to hear my native language, so she always talks to me in that."she replied.

"The Lady can understand Aragonese?"he asked.

"A little. Just about enough to get around, and have a short conversation, but I don't think she thinks in Aragonese. I'm pretty sure she thinks in English."

"What do you mean, she thinks in English?"

"You know, how when you think to yourself."

"You don't think in English?"

"Well, no. Not much. Not really. Okay, not at all."

"You think in Aragonese?"he asked.

Helena nodded.

"Sure."she answered. "But languages are just…words. Just sounds. It's like a meow. A meow can mean different things. It just depends on how you want to get your message across to get it across."

But Terry wasn't really listening anymore. Why hadn't he thought of that before?he wondered. It was so obvious. He took Helena's slips into Aragonese for granted. Now he didn't really even notice it.

But he'd never thought Lady Selina could speak it. With Helena there was no mistaking it, for her accent, which slipped out, despite her best efforts to hide it, but Lady Selina spoke perfect English.

Of course Lady Selina would know Aragonese. She'd lived in Aragon, hadn't she? She would have to know some of it.

Maybe like Helena said, not very well, but surely enough to understand. Or if not, she'd know just what dialect Helena spoke.

"How long did the Lady live in Aragon?"he asked.

"The same number of years I did. Before I was born,"Helena frowned. "Maybe…only a couple of months?"she didn't look too sure.

"And does the Lady have any trouble understanding anything you say?"

"Sometimes I have to talk a little slowly. And she also doesn't use proper grammar, sentence structure. But,"Helena shrugged. "and if your distracting chatter is a strategy you're using to win, it's not going to work, I assure you."she added, frowning.


	5. Chapter 5

"Helena's always been allowed to go wherever she likes. At any hour she likes, as well. Sometimes it is hard to know, because she doesn't like to go out through the door. There's nothing unusual about that."Selina said. "She has the complete freedom to do as she pleases."

She hadn't really been very surprised just when Bruce told her. She hadn't known, but it was something that she always knew happened often.

"So you don't have a lot of rules for her. She's always done what she likes?"

"Well, yes. She was always curious, and like to explore. Especially if we were in the country. She never got lost, either."

"And whenever you were in the city?"

"She went out there, as well. Most likely to find a place where she could be alone, and didn't feel so artificial."

"You were never afraid she would run into trouble? She would get hurt?"

"She's more than capable of looking after herself, I assure you. Besides, if it makes her happy…well, I couldn't say no or stop her."

"It sounds like you're more concerned for her contentment than her safety."

"She can look after herself."

"You know where she goes?"

"No."Selina admitted. "I couldn't tell you for sure. But she does no one any harm."

"Has she told you what she does?"

"No. Not anymore. As a girl, she did."

"And?"

"Just little strolls, I'm sure."

"And if they became more than strolls?"

"What would she do?"Selina looked thoughtful. "Go looking for something. Something that could have sparked her imagination. Something in her reading could have caught her attention."

"Or something she was told as a child."

Selina smiled.

"I can certainly see her having tried to find Diego Marcilla."Selina smiled fondly. "I know she was fond of the story of the Lovers of Teruel. She wanted very much to find Diego Marcilla and Isabel Segura. Although I'm pretty she goes doesn't go in search of them anymore."

"Or she could have heard other stories."

"Of course. Several."Selina nodded.

"Who told her the stories?"

"She didn't have a nanny, for the same reason she didn't board at school. I wanted her with me. Helena was always more advanced than other girls her age, as well. I hired tutors for her. I also told her stories myself."

"And did you only tell her folktales? Nothing else?"

"What do you mean?"

"You told her about yourself as Catwoman, didn't you?"

"Of course I did. She never found out from someone else. She heard it from me."

"Couldn't _that_ have sparked her imagination, as you said?"

He looked furious

"And she has your same penchant for collecting."

"Are you saying she goes out, and she steals? No. Helena wouldn't steal."

"You said you don't know where she goes when she goes out. And you gave her what you stole."

"No, I don't know where she goes. Or what she does, either. But that doesn't mean anything. She may just go out to take the cats outside. Helena doesn't like them to go out by themselves in the city. And she wouldn't steal. I should know. I know her better than anyone, I should think. She has no reason to steal. If she did, I would know."

"I'd like you to listen to something."


	6. Chapter 6

"I'm not as fluent in Aragonese as she is. So it has to be a bit slowly. I don't use it very much, except to talk to Helena, so I know the vocabulary, but sentence structure is a different thing altogether. Helena speaks it perfectly, which means I have a little trouble understanding her sometimes."

They listened to Helena's 'conversation' with Adela. Fortunately, she hadn't said much. Only a couple of sentences. She sounded upset at first. Selina frowned, as she listened to the foreign language, trying to understand the foreign vocabulary.

"It really isn't safe,"she said, as she listened to the first part a few times.

"Someone she was expecting didn't show?"she went on.

"She'll take an alternate route. And that I know she would ask for help."Selina finished.

"Who could she have been expecting?"Bruce asked.

"She hasn't been here long enough to get to know anyone. Helena chooses her friends very carefully."

"Maybe she met someone no one knows about yet."

"But that doesn't mean anything."Selina dismissed. "Just about everyone has friends don't they? They may just happen to be in town, is all. A lot of them travel a lot."

"And you know all her friends?"

"I can't say I know _all_ of them."Selina admitted. "But some of them yes, I do. They're usually people who share some of her interests. With whom she has things in common. Or with whom she works with."

"What kind of interests do they share?"

"Art, fashion, acting. She knows people of all kinds. Actors, designers, well many. They can come to look over designs, discuss different projects."

"Can you think of any reason why she would meet them in the middle of the night? Why she couldn't invite them over?"

"No. Her friends are always welcome. Regardless of whatever they're like. They're her friends. And many of them are very busy people. The middle of the night might just have been the only free time they had."

"She's said she's after something she's always wanted, and will complete a collection she owns. And when you heard her, she said she would ask your help with something. Has she asked you for help with anything?"

"No."Selina lied, remembering a conversation with Helena a few days ago.

Bruce thought she answered a bit too quickly.

"Maybe they owned whatever it is she wants, and she wanted to meet them to discuss whatever it is."Selina shrugged.

"You have any idea what it could be?"

"No. There's a lot she doesn't like to share with anyone. Even me. And I won't ask her! It would mean I don't trust her! And I do!"

"Do you think you could get her to tell you what she wants to add?"

Selina thought for a while, then shook her head.

"No. I think the only way would be to wait until she has it. But I do know a lot of her things, she has not for their monetary value. There's just…a certain satisfaction in owning it. And it could just as well be that you're _wrong_! Maybe it's something she has, that someone else wants. Besides, I don't think what she said, or what she was doing that night has any importance. Like I said before, Helena has no reason to steal what so ever."

"Did you have any reason to steal?"

"You're saying she could be doing it for just the thrill of it?"

"If you did."

"You're saying it's something she could have inherited from me? Helena's different. She doesn't like to steal."said Selina firmly.

"I know you gave her all your stolen items."

"You have no right to criticize the way I raised her! I raised her as I saw fit! And you have no right to say anything about it! If such a thing really is on her mind, I'll take care of it myself! And I don't want you to be spying on her anymore!"

Selina left, furious.

Terry, who had been listening to the conversation, stepped into the room.

"Well, if the Lady says Helena wouldn't do anything like that, then it's because Helena wouldn't. I mean, who better than her to know just what Helena would or wouldn't do? She's lived with her her whole life. She raised her."


	7. Chapter 7

"Absolutely unintentionally, I assure you."

Helena was telling Terry that she had overheard a conversation between Lady Selina and Maven. Apparently, just after Lady Selina had spoken to Bruce.

"You overheard _unintentionally_? Is such a thing even possible?"

Helena looked serious.

"For me, it is. I do happen to have very good ears, you know. And you never know just what you may find out. So, it definitely comes in handy."

"I have to agree it may come in handy sometimes."he agreed.

"And it's good to know what other people can think about you, you know."

"I don't doubt you do have good ears, but you just _happened_ to be there when Lady Selina and Maven were having a conversation."

"Well...kind of,"said Helena. "There was no need for me to eavesdrop, of course, as I think I could already have worked it out for myself."

Helena looked puzzled.

"_Mai _wants to know what I want that's special."she said. "Now, just where do you suppose she could have gotten an idea like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like that. I couldn't want anything. But it was only Maven she was talking to, although...I should never have overheard what they were saying, I admit."she sighed. "I only wanted to because...because I had absolutely _nothing_ better to do."she added hastily. "But I really shouldn't have overheard."

"You didn't like what you heard?"he guessed.

"You've learned to read me pretty well."Helena looked up.

"Well, what did you hear?"Terry asked.

"You don't always hear what you would like to hear. What they were saying was, basically, I guess, is a...um...um,"she ended by saying something a word he didn't understand, as she struggled for a description. "I wasn't brought up right?"she ended.

"You have to admit, not all parents are as lenient as Lady Selina is, that's for sure. I don't think I've ever known anyone whose parents would let them get away with half the things you do. I mean, from what you've told me, you never had any restrictions for anything. No curfew, you've never been in solitary, you've never even been scolded, have you?"

"No. My mother didn't raise me the way she should have? That's what _Mai_ was saying to Maven, basically. That _someone_ didn't agree with her. You agree with _them_?"

Terry didn't know what to answer. Even though she always tried to hide what she was really feeling, but didn't do a good job at it this time.

"What's on your mind?"he asked, as she began to stroke Adela absent mindedly.

"Hmm, I guess _he __really _does think the very worst of me."she went on.

She muttered something.

"I really wish you'd stop talking in whatever you're talking right now."said Terry, sounding exasperating. "Or you'd talk slower."

It was frustrating that she spoke in any language he didn't understand. That he didn't know what she was saying.

"Oh, sorry. I just slip, and it just comes out that way sometimes, and it's so easy to forget that other people don't understand it. Or don't like it. My cats don't mind what I speak to them in, after all."

"So you speak to them in anything."

Helena nodded.

"In anything. But, like when I told you I didn't have to eavesdrop. I know other people don't like it. Most people would mind, but _Mai_ doesn't. Not if it's me. People do, I know. My _Mai_ doesn't. Neither does Maven, but I know other people do."

"It seems like your _Mai_,"

Helena smiled at Terry's using the Aragonese term for 'mother'.

Terry could see she looked very pleased at hearing her own language coming from someone who wasn't herself.

"Isn't very strict or anything with you, is she?"he continued.

Helena shook her head.

"No, she's not. That's why I try to do my best always. Like my English. It's a hard language to learn. I love my _Mai_ with all my heart. I…I wish I were just like her."

"You want to be just like her? You admire her?"

Helena nodded.

"Everyone must respect their parents, mustn't they?"she pointed out. "But you don't really think as…as highly of my _Mai_ as I do, do you?"

"I never said that."

"But you think it. It's not my place to judge _Mai_ as anything but a mother. That's all I've known her as. And to me she was always a good mother. Too indulgent, as you said, but I think that's always been her way of recompensating for me for what I don't have."

"Well, I do think you admire your too much."

"She did do wrong,"Helena admitted. "I know, but…who am I to judge? Like I said, to me she's my mother. What I _can_ say is, no one is perfect. The only ones who are,"she gestured at her cats. "many examples of them are sitting in this room. People make mistakes."

"But you don't have to repeat those same mistakes."

Helena didn't answer.


	8. Chapter 8

Helena had said that Lady Selina had given her everything she had wanted to recompensate her for the things she didn't have. At first glance, one would think that Helena had everything anyone could ever want. But Terry thought he knew just what she meant.

And he'd noticed whenever she said _he_, or _him_, if they were napping, their eyes would open, would growl, or even hiss, depending on just how she hated just to think about it, probably.

_"Why do you always use he or him?"he'd asked her once._

_ "Well, I can't very well say she or her, can I?"she answered, as though it were the most obvious thing. "Or it. He's not an it. Or like I said a she."_

_ "You know what I mean."_

_ "Um, my English sentence structure still isn't good? In some language, uh, improper nouns are more used."_

_ "I know you're making that up."_

_ "As a matter of fact,"she sighed. "for this particular case, yes, I am, unfortunately."_

"_You don't want to answer, huh?"_

"_You do deserve an answer. I couldn't use his name because that wouldn't be right. I can't use, uh, another term, because…that would be too…well, that wouldn't really be right, either, would it?"_

_ "Why not?"_

_ "Because…because…_because_!"_

_ "Because why?"_

_ "Because _Isaid_ so, that's why!"_

_ "Where did you learn that? Lady Selina ever said that? Only parents can say that."_

_ "She has said it. Once or twice."_

_ "Only once or twice? What for?"he wanted to know. "Whatever it was, it must have pretty bad for her to say that."_

_ "I can't really remember."_

But that was only sometimes, because she would usually ask him many questions about Bruce. How did Terry behave around him, how did Bruce treat him.

"_Mai_ doesn't talk about him the same way you do."she'd said.

Helena said she'd overheard unintentionally, although Terry was sure, she did do it intentionally. She said it was good to hear what other people thought about you, but she always insisted and showed that she didn't care what other people thought. And Helena always seemed well informed about everything going on around her. Especially involving the people around her. Sometimes too well informed.

She said he learned to read her very well. That no one had quite learned to do that. Except for Lady Selina. And Lady Selina would do nothing to help. She simply refused to believe Helena would do something wrong.

"_You're all your Mai, as you say, has."he told her._

"_And Mai is all I have. All I've ever had. Except for my pets. I think it's a little amusing to play this game."_

"_It's no game."_

"_A guessing game."she said. "But you don't tell me, so I don't tell you. You hide something."she said._

_ "What makes you think I hide anything?"_

_ "I see it in your eyes."she leaned closer, her eyes narrowing. "Well, so I hide something, too."_

But that could also mean she was just playing to get him to tell her. He'd learned to tell her moods by her cats. And today they had been especially excited, which could only mean she was especially happy about something. Please let me be wrong, he thought.

"I'm _what_?"Helena demanded.

"Don't use that tone of voice with me, Helena. You're not to go out at night alone."Selina said.

"_Why_? You'd have to give me a _reason_! _Mai_!"

"Because it's not safe."

"And so? You never said anything like that before! _I _can be safe!"

This really isn't like _Mai_!Helena thought.

"You're just not to do it anymore, Helena. And that's the end of it!"

Helena stared, bewildered and speechless.

"_You're _scaring_ me, Mai."_

"If you're going to use Aragonese, talk a little slower, my precious, but there's nothing to be scared of."

Helena felt furious, as she watched the door through which her mother had gone. Not to go out indeed!

She sighed. Mai would be furious if she did go out, after she had specifically told her not to. It wasn't usual that Helena crossed her mother, but her mother had never said anything like this before. Oh, well, Mai said not to, but…she was going to figure out nothing just staying here, so…

"Forget it. Look,"she pointed out to her cats. "there must be something else, because Mai wasn't quite herself. And we're not going to get anywhere just sitting here. So…we have plenty to do tonight. You're coming with me, Adela. You will be a lot of help. And I think you should wear your collar."


	9. Chapter 9

"She's been very excited. Like she's anticipating something."

"She will go. There'll be a full moon out tonight. She only goes out when there's a full moon."

That much was true. Terry had definitely noticed Helena only went out when there was a full moon out.

"Helena loves the moon. At least that's what I've seen in the paintings and sculptures that she's shown me. Besides cats. She has three cats named for the moon, too. Qamar, or Qamy, Tsuki and Luna."

Terry remembered the paintings in silvers, whites, and light blues. Helena was had said one she especially loved was one with a silvery blue ocean, with a full moon in view.

"She calls it…_Mare Serenitatis_?"

He pronounced the last words a bit slowly.

"I'm not sure what language it's supposed to be in."

"Latin for Sea of Serenity. Or Sea of Peacefullness."

"Never heard of it."

"A lunar ocean. The large, dark plains were mistaken by early astrologers for actual seas. Is it her favorite painting?"he wanted to know

Terry shook his head.

"No. Her favorites she keeps I'm not sure where. Under lock and key. She says she _may_ let me see them sometime. This one is just one that she can let people see."

"Why hasn't she let you see them yet?"

"It's not easy! She keeps a lot of things. I barely got her to show me a few a couple of days ago! But from those few, you can tell she really loves cats and the moon. Cats, I understand, but the moon?"

"Selene was the goddess of the moon."

That would make sense. The Lady's name.

"Helena loves and admires her _Mai_. She said she wishes she were just like her."Terry remembered.

"_Mai_?"

"'Mother'. Now I know how she slips from one language to another so often."

"Does she have any depictions of Selene? Or any lunar deities?"

Terry shook his head.

"There were no humans. Just cats, and seascapes, mostly. But Luna and Adela wear crescent moons. Luna's silver, and Adela's gold."he remembered.

"And what about the other two? Qamar and Tsuki."

Terry had asked Helena that same question when she'd told them Qamar and Tsuki were also named for the moon.

"Adela and Luna are littermates. And both of them are descended from Isis. At least eight generations."

"Isis?"

"One of Lady Selina's cats."

Bruce knew who Isis was. Selina's favorite cat. The one she almost always took with her. These were descended from her.

_Wished she were just like her mother,_ she had said.

Helena saw Selina as a role model. To Helena, it seemed, Selina was almost a figure of romance. A heroine. But it was difficult to believe Selina would have taught her daughter to steal. Selina had done it because she liked it.

Who said Helena wouldn't like it, too? Especially as she saw her mother did it. Seeing the stolen objects, and hearing just how Selina had done it, could have made her want to do it herself as well.

Selina had said she'd given it up because she would dedicate her entire life to raising her daughter. Selina had never particularly followed any kind of pattern, as Helena did with the moon. Her mother's name meant 'moon'.

Another indication of just how much Selina had influenced over her daughter's life. And she could have inherited more from her mother than just her love of cats. Her love of stealing, as well.

Selina said she had raised Helena as she had seen fit.

"_What am I supposed to do?"she asked. "Lock her and keep her in handcuffs? She's my daughter, not my prisoner!"_

"_She may not end up being not your prisoner, but one of state's."_

"_I'll talk to her. She will listen to me. She will have to."_

But it couldn't be possible she had taught Helena to steal, just because he asked her to take Helena far away. Selina knew he was only trying to protect her. The memory of what had happened to Tim had always been in his mind.


	10. Chapter 10

"I kind of like that you're wearing your charm, Adela."said Helena.

Usually, on such an occasion, any cat who went with Helena would wear no charms. After all, no one could help but make noise when they wore them, even if they'd learned to walk so as to make the lease noise as possible. But the charm might prove helpful on this occasion.

"I wonder if your charm will make any difference, Adela. I feel it may bring us very good luck."

As on any night there was a full moon out, Helena stepped outside, and climbed down from the window, cat like. Adela went after her.

Terry still had hoped that she wouldn't have. He noticed that Adela was still wearing her collar. How could Helena have forgotten to take the cat's collar off this time?

Helena was far more likely to forget to remove her own jewelry than any of her cats', especially that of her favorite cat. If she'd forgotten, it could only mean she was very preoccupied with something else. Something more important to her than her cats, and he knew her well enough to know that list was very narrow.

"I thought you told the Lady to talk to her. It doesn't look like she did. Or if she did, Helena paid no attention."Terry spoke into his com link.

But then who paid attention to their parents? And Helena least of all.

_This time should be different,_ Helena thought to herself. _This time must be different._

She dared not voice her thoughts out loud. Fortunately, the one she was 'speaking' to did not need words to know what was being communicated to it. The cat made a soft mewing sound, as though trying to assure her. Helena nodded.

She should still do a better job to not let anything escape. _Nothing._ If Adela could tell, so could anyone! She should portray nothing but absolute confidence. Just one little slip, and…oh, well, she didn't want to think about it. She'd just have to go home with nothing to show for it. Upset, and frustrated, maybe to wait for who only knew how long, before she could try again, or have to come up with something completely new. And that could take a while! That's why this one had to work!

"To which should we go first?"she asked Adela in a low voice.

She also had to keep the right tone of voice. One slip in the tone could be just as bad. It was like an…act!Helena thought. An act she'd rehearsed several times. Because she _had_ rehearsed. And so far it was going just as planned.

Helena couldn't help herself, and thought _I wonder if Mai ever rehearsed? Did she see it like this, as well?_

Terry saw Helena speak to the cat. Asking it where they should go first. That meant she wanted more than one thing. Helena had stopped and turned her head up towards the full moon, and her hand went up to where the black cat was stretched across her shoulders, and stroked it. She must be thinking of Lady Selina, he knew.

Of course, there was very little left of the old Gotham, so there was no way she could be retracing Lady Selina's steps, but maybe she wondered if her mother had perhaps walked these same steps?he thought, as her gaze went from the moon to the ground before her. She turned her attention to the cat, and continued, a more determined look on her face.

Helena thought she kind of liked this. _I think I know just why Mai did it, _she thought to herself.

Helena would most likely have her mother's interests, and would be looking for something similar. Jewels, mostly. And any cat themed artwork.

_Don't act so eager, Adela! Or don't make it so obvious! _Helena thought.

Yet, how could she ask the cat to control her emotions, when she herself was having very little success doing so?

_But she may still change her mind!_Terry thought.

However, Helena gave no indication that she would turn and leave. Simply went on, stopping only to look at the cat wrapped around her shoulders. Though, finally, she stopped, looking a bit unsure of where to go. She'd changed her mind at last minute, and decided to turn back instead?he hoped.

Helena looked at Adela. This was just the same dilemma that had kept her from just coming out and doing it before! Should she go ahead? Turn back? She had to decide quickly, as every second she stood there, standing uncertainly was…! It was surprising she'd made it this far. She honestly didn't really think she could have.

But the cat would be the one who would 'tell' her whether or not she should go ahead, or just go back. Adela would give her answer, Helena knew. She would have to rely on the cat's much keener senses to tell her what she needed to know.

If there was no one around, then…

It could only have been a couple of seconds, maybe not even a minute, but it seemed much longer as Terry watched Helena standing there. She did look as though she were fighting with herself. She looked at her cat. The same black cat whom, she said, was descended from her mother's favorite cat. Unable to solve the dilemma on her own, it seemed, Helena turned to the cat, and their gazes met.


	11. Chapter 11

Helena felt Adela turn her attention away from her, and strained her own ears in an effort to hear what may have gotten her cats attention.

"We know very well there's someone there, you know."said Helena, and sat on the floor as if to wait patiently for a reply.

If she knew there was someone else, why would she sit so calmly, waiting for them? Not even her cat seemed disturbed. Or was she expecting someone? Here?

He saw the cat gazing in his direction. Helena, following Adela's gaze, also turned toward him. Could she see him? It looked like she could.

Whether or not she could, he could tell she was aware there was another person. But she didn't move. She just sat there looking in his direction. Waiting.

Helena knew how to be patient. After all, sometimes she knew from watching her cats hunt prey, that sometimes, one just had to be patient

It would have to come out at sometime, didn't it? And she mustn't show just how nervous and anxious she was. If she looked calm…

"She's not doing _anything_."

He decided against speaking, even into the com link, as he saw the cat's ears move. Helena also paid closer attention in the direction her cat's ears moved towards.

Maybe she would grow tired of waiting, and simply go ahead and take whatever she wanted to take. Or she would grow tired of waiting, deciding maybe to try some other time.

But she didn't seem to be disturbed by waiting. That was weird, he thought. In the time he'd known her, he knew Helena was one of the most impatient people he knew. Especially when she was so upset that something didn't go the way she had wanted it to. He knew she found it very disturbing when something was unpredictable. So…things had to be going her way, if she seemed so unperturbed.

She just sat there, calmy, looking perfectly at ease, both her and her cat looking in his direction, its eyes and ears focused specifically on him. Terry actually wondered if Helena could actually see him.

She probably couldn't, he knew, but she was certainly giving a very good impression of it. After a while, it was obvious that she had no intention of moving, and obviously wasn't going to.

Helena didn't have to look up. She was looking at the same spot her cat was, even though she couldn't see what the cat did. She could tell there was someone there. They weren't moving, she knew. Adela's ears twitched, and she learned forward, as she heard sound coming.

They were probably waiting for her, as she was waiting for them. Helena was determined it would have to be they who would approach her first.

Helena felt the tip of Adela's tail twitch quicker, but she didn't move. She mustn't even let her eyes wander from the exact same spot she was staring at.

That something disturbed her cat was all she needed to know what the other person was moving in her direction.

Terry saw that she looked completely relaxed. It seemed almost as though she was pleased to see him, as she nodded as soon as she saw him.

"You did surprise me. Just a little bit."she said calmly, looking up.

He didn't seem to have upset her one bit, it seemed. She certainly hid her surprise very well if he did. He was unsure what to do, so he waited for her to speak first. Finally, she stood up.

"I was rather hoping you would show."she finally said.

"You were hoping?"

As he'd gotten to know her better, Terry knew Helena was full of eccentricities, but this? This was obviously one of them, he thought.

"Well, yes!"she said. "But maybe I had the wrong impression. I did think you would get here much faster."

"You were hoping I would be here?"

"Well…I've met quite a few celebrities in my life. Actors, singers, directors, writers. And shaken their hand. Dined with them. Had my picture taken with them. Had them autograph posters, and you know, memorabilia. I guess this must be what a fan feels like?"

"I don't know if a lot of fans feel like they want to steal. Or pretend to."

Helena seemed to flinch at his words.

"I don't think any fan has had to do anything like this, because no one is this difficult! It seemed it was the only way. Or at least the only _practical_ way. I've thought and thought and thought for a long time."she said. "Coming up with many, oh so many ideas! Each even more unlikely than the last! You don't have an email, you don't have a phone number, you don't have an address! So what else could I do! I had to, because I need your help."


	12. Chapter 12

She needed his help?

"You don't know me, I suppose. But you must have met, or known about, my _Mai_."continued Helena, gesturing at the cat around her shoulders.

"Your _Mai_?"

"Aragonese, my native language, for 'mother'."Helena clarified. "But she is Selina Kyle."

Helena looked around.

"She was right here, at least once. There's hardly anything left of what was here when she lived in Gotham."she sounded a bit sad. "It took me a long time to find the exact right places. But there's nothing left anymore."she sighed. "It was a necklace."

"A necklace?"

"Not the place. But what she took."Helena explained, as she began to walk and look around. "Hmm, but much higher…you see, here,"she gestured around. "this place,"

And she began to tell him almost the exact history of the exact location. So many number of floors, rooms, even who had lived there, demolished so many times, until it became just what it was today.

Helena had never been in Gotham, and she seemed to know more about the city, it seemed than he, who had lived there all his life, did. Or about any sites where Catwoman had ever set foot upon. Or just the ones where she had committed any robberies?

Of course, Bruce had also thought Helena would visit those sites, and had done just that. Plotted them on a current map of Gotham. Helena seemed to know every last thing about it, though, not just the location. Probably not just this one, either.

"And that's why you're here? Because your mother, Catwoman, was here?"

"Oh, yes! Don't you think there's something, to walking the same floor, or as close as you can get to it anyway, but the same floor as someone else did?! Someone like my mother!"

"And are you also here for the same reason she was?"

"Yes! I mean, _no_!"she shook her head. "No! Of course not!"

"You said you wanted to follow in her footsteps."he said.

"I never said that! Not really. I just said it felt special to be in the same place she was! There's nothing wrong with that, is that? I didn't really go in. I just sat outside. I haven't really done anything. I have nothing to fear, do I?"

"No."he admitted. "But then what are you doing here?"

"Like I said, there was just no other way to get a hold of you."

"And you still haven't said why you wanted help."

She looked around anxiously.

"I don't like to talk when there might be people listening."

"Wouldn't your cat know? It certainly looked like she knew where _I_ was."

"Because I asked her to listen for you."

"You asked her?

"You were hard because she knows so very little about you. Otherwise, I may not have had to bring her with me or anything."

"It sounds almost as though you could communicate with her. As though you could understand each other."

"It's not too hard, really. I learned it from _Mai_."she finished.

"You learned a lot from your mother, it sounds like."

He didn't forget when he had asked her if she had been there for the same reason Catwoman had been, she had immediately answered yes, before saying no.

"From who else _could_ I have learned anything? There _is_ no one else. There _never_ has been anyone else. Well, there is. There is Maven. But Maven is more like my nanny, I guess I could say, but all kittens learn what they need to survive from the queen. Why should I be any different?"

She stood silently for a while, before looking up. He could tell she must be trying to get rid of some unpleasant thought, because her cat shook her head vigorously.

"I still haven't given you an explanation!"she remembered.

"You said you needed my help."

"And I do. You must-I mean, I would like you to do something for me."

"What am I supposed to do for you?"he wanted to know.

"I'll show you. You'd have to come with me to see."she said, looking very serious.


	13. Chapter 13

"You'll have to see it to believe it."said Helena. "You're the very first human being other than myself to see it."

The lights turned on, as she stepped in. This must be all her work that she wanted no one to see, Terry thought. That she guarded so jealously.

"And why am I the first person to see it? Hasn't anyone else?"Terry asked.

Helena shook her head.

"No! No one. You, I make an exception for, because like I said, I need your help. And that is what I will show you. I will give you a tour of everything later, or on another occasion, if you would like."she dismissed.

Looking around, he saw statuary, jewels, paintings in different mediums. And as with everything Helena owned, cats were the most dominant theme, followed by the moon, or landscapes.

Seeing the jewels and statues, he wondered if any of them had been given to her by Lady Selina. He thought that was probably why she didn't like people to come in here.

"All these are yours?"

"Of course."

"Where did you get all of them?"he asked following her.

"Here and there. It depends on which ones you mean."she answered, still walking, and going up a short flight of stairs.

What did she mean by here and there? How long had it taken her to get all these items? And most of them did look pretty expensive.

The whole place seemed like a maze, but there was no hesitation in Helena's progress, as they walked on.

"Cats are my favorite subject,"she finally said. "people aren't, but I can still depict people well. Just not as well as I can cats."

She gestured as they entered even another room. This one was different. There were still cats everywhere, except for the first time there was the depiction of a person in the room.

"It's so it isn't such a dramatic change, from one to another. From cats to people. The people are in the rooms beyond this one."

Terry had never thought Helena could do people so well. Several portraits of the Lady hung on the walls. But especially one, he noticed, seemed to dominate the rest. It was behind a curtain, however.

"These are all of my mother."she said. "I keep this room also, sometimes when I feel sad, alone, depressed. The room makes one feel…safe, secure."

"You sound like you're very attached to her."

"She and Maven are the only people I really know."

"There's another one behind the curtain."he commented.

"There is."she confirmed.

"Why is it behind the curtain?"

"Well, why _not_?"she said evasively.

She obviously did not want to answer.

"I didn't ask why not."

Helena remained silent.

"You don't like it?"

"Oh, no,"she shook her head. "I do."

"So why is the curtain pulled over it? None of the others have curtains. Why this one?"

"Because in order to get to the other room, we had to come in through here, and as you were going to be here, I had to pull something over it."she explained.

"You didn't want me to see it? I thought you made an exception for me."

"I myself, even, can't see it sometimes."Helena explained. "It may upset me, so I have to keep the curtain over it. Sometimes it will make me mad, others, it may make me sad."

"It is not quite special, but it is rather significant. But you have a point, and I did make an exception."

She walked over to it, and pulled the curtain aside. It revealed a portrait larger than any of the others. It was of the Lady, wearing a red gown. She looked almost real enough to step off the canvas. All the others did, too, but maybe the fact that it was life-size made this one seem more so.

"What's so significant about it?"

It didn't seem very different than the others.

"I…despise…_something_ that has to do with it. It rather reminds me that one must never feed on false hope, or dwell on dreams, as I did on a certain one when I was a little girl. But that's no one's business, other than mine, and perhaps a couple of other people. Not yours. Never yours. The frame is solid silver,"she changed the subject. "and the stones on it are, of course, real. Not any imitations or anything. They're actual stones. _Mai_ has always loved jewels, so obviously, the portrait had to have the finest stones, as well."

Saying the last sentence, she gestured towards and walked to another one, this one depicting the Lady as Catwoman. There were also several portraits and sculptures of the Lady as Catwoman, as well.

"She really did like jewels. Or, I should say, she really does."Helena smiled.

"You sound awfully proud of her."

He noticed once more with what pride and awe Helena spoke of her mother.

"Oh, I _am_. _I_ think she was the very _best_."


	14. Chapter 14

"Are these all hers?"Terry asked.

Apart from the portraits, paintings, and sculptures, there were also several other items.

"No. These are mine."Helena answered. "She has given me several of her things, though. But those are put away somewhere else."

She probably meant what the Lady had stolen. Terry didn't like the way Helena spoke so casually about it. As though it were the most normal thing in the world.

"But I didn't just come here to see the settings from my mother's stories, or see the places where she'd been. So I have something else I'd like you to see."

Just as Helena had said, there were more depictions of people in the other rooms. Terry had never imagined she could possibly have known so many people. She never said anything about people, she always made it sound as though she met only a few acquaintances here and there.

"Who are the people in the portraits?"he asked.

"Just people I've met or worked with. I mostly only use the actors."

"Actors?"

She'd never mentioned anything like that.

"I do their make up and personal adornment. I'm not as good at drawing people."she said once more, apologizing. "I stopped for a while, but I've taken it up again. It's been so difficult to get _Mai_ to bring me here!"she continued. "I always wanted to come, but she never brought me, you know. However, this time, I _had_ to come! I would just have come myself, if she didn't want to come with me. But we're almost there."

"I used an image for a lot of these paintings. A hologram."she explained.

"The portraits?"he asked.

"Some of them. Especially when I will do, say, a portrait of…a princess, king, anything like that. They obviously can't pose for me. And I'd like to do them different from whatever depictions I may find."

Helena raised her hand, and a woman appeared. She had reddish blonde hair, blue eyes, and was of a fair complexion. Terry had never seen anything remotely resembling what she wore, but Helena had done several portraits of her.

"If I'd like to do them in different clothing, something different from the style worn during that time period."

The clothing the woman wore changed.

"A different expression."

The expression on her face changed.

"They're also good to see how any of my designs will look on someone. I know they use holograms for different things, however, these are a little different."

"Because you use them for your work?"he asked.

Helena shook her head.

"Kind of, but not really. A hologram, it's…not natural. But if you see here, it does look more real."

"I don't really see the difference."he said.

"You don't? Do you have a thermograph or anything like that?"

He did. To his surprise the hologram did show up on the thermograph. A hologram was only a kind of optical illusion. If you reached toward it, you couldn't touch it, and it definitely didn't emit any kind of heat.

"It shows up on the thermograph, you see."said Helena unnecessarily.

"How?"Terry asked.

"The perfection of the image, I did because it makes for more realistic portraits and all that. The one for the thermograph, I just did because I found it interesting."

"Are all the portraits drawn from holograms?"

"No, quite a few, most actually, are drawn from life. Your paintings do come out more realistic using these, when you can't use the actual subject. That's just why I work so hard to perfect them. However, that's still no substitute for the actual subject. And that's just what I wanted to ask of you."she finally said.

At least she would finally say why she had insisted so much on his coming with her.

"Like, I just said, the hologram is no substitute for the real thing."she continued. "You can tell just which ones are drawn from life and which from a hologram."

He really couldn't. But he had never really been that interested in art.

"So, you see, I would like to do your portrait."she ended.


	15. Chapter 15

"My portrait?"

He had never thought she would ask him for anything like that. Terry knew Helena liked to draw, and knew she was good from what she had let him see of her work, but one thing he'd noticed was that just about all her work lacked one thing. People. Except for the ones she'd shown him just now, of the Lady, and the several others. So this had never crossed his mind.

"Of course. That's why I made an exception for you here! Because I've always wanted to do your portrait. It can't all have been for nothing!"

"I'm no celebrity."he said, looking at the portraits on the walls.

They were all of actors, celebrities, and such. He didn't recognize some of them. Probably people from the different countries she'd visited.

"To me, you are."she said, looking serious. "Even more so than anyone here. And anyway, yours wouldn't hang here, with the rest. It would have a place of honor."

"You think I'm a celebrity?"he couldn't quite get over the surprise.

"Quite a bit more, I think, actually. And your portrait would hang in a special place. However, it will be meant for my eyes only, as are many things here. I daresay I am your biggest fan, I can almost assure you that you have no bigger fan than myself. Yours would hang along with everything else I've ever collected of yourself, obviously. I guess before anything else, you'd like to see the place I would hang it. Let me show you."

Just as everything he had seen so far was themed for cats, this was themed for Batman.

"How long did it take you to…collect all this?"he asked.

He wondered if perhaps Lady Selina had ever been in the Bat Cave. She would have told Helena about it, because the room certainly looked similar to that. Except it was a little more artistic.

"A lifetime, obviously. I made most of it, of course."she explained.

"What are all the vid discs for?"he wanted to know.

"That's of anything that comes on the web of yourself. I've programmed it to record anything that might have any mention of you."

She really hadn't exaggerated when she said she was his biggest fan.

"Of course,"she looked around. "It's all very little, really. And all of it, well, none of it is really the real thing, just an imitation. That is why you must allow me the honor of doing your portrait. It will be the jewel of my collection."

The jewel of her collection, he remembered. This was it? When she had first mentioned it, he had thought it would something perhaps Catwoman had really wanted, and perhaps for some reason, had not been able to steal.

"I didn't know you had such a collection."

"_Mai_ would tell me about you. Or your predecessor, I should say. That's why I said you must know about her. I know you haven't met her personally. I've been at collecting this just about all my life."

"It shows. Does your mother know you have this collection? And that you wanted to do my portrait?"

"About the collection, she may, of course. Actually, I'm almost sure she does. And if that's so, then Maven knows, too, obviously. About the portrait, not that I know of. I don't think so. But she may know about that, too. She's the only one you face stiff competition from. Actually, she's the only one who surpasses you."

"Really?"

That wasn't surprising.

"Of course. Unlike this, of course, many of what I have is actually the real thing. I have very many things of hers. In your case, however, the portrait will be the only real one. No one else will have one even remotely like it. I'll pay you anything you want."she gestured around. "Or if you don't want money, you can have anything you like of what you've seen. All the work you've seen is my own. You can have any of it, if you like. Just about everything is extraordinarily valuable. And this isn't even half of it! All you have to do is choose whatever you like. I will give you anything in return."

"You said you have many things of your mother's."

"Of course."she looked puzzled. "You…would like to see them?"she asked.

"I would."

The room was bigger, as she'd said. And it was more richly decorated than the other. He already knew that Lady Selina had given Helena the items she had stolen. Perhaps she kept them in that room.

"Dolls?"

"Oh, those are from a comment Maven once made to me. Well, she said it to _Mai_, the first time, anyway. So, I have Catwoman dolls."

"What she gave you, does any of it include any of the items she ever stole?"

"Yes."Helena confirmed. "But _I _didn't steal them. She gave them to me. Why?"

"I'm asking you to return the stolen objects to the owners."

"What?!"


	16. Chapter 16

"You can't ask for those."Helena said. "That's impossible."

"I thought you said anything."Terry reminded her.

He thought if she wanted this so badly, she would get rid of the

"I misspoke or you misunderstood. I should have said, you may have anything I may show you. Some things are _completely_ forbidden to anyone but myself."

She gestured around.

"Please ask for something else."she begged.

"No."

"You can have anything you wish for."she repeated. "Plenty of them are extraordinarily valuable. I should show you everything. You will definitely change your mind, I assure you!"

"I don't think that's likely."

Helena stared.

"Yes it _is_."she said firmly. "I know! Money. You must want money. Everyone likes money."

"I don't want money."he stated.

"Then I can get you anything you like, you know. If it's something I don't have, I can get it for you."

"I already told you what I want. And you said you already have it."

"You leave me in quite a dilemma!"

Terry saw that she was obviously struggling with herself. Frowning, her eyes would move towards him, then turn towards her right, which was probably where she kept them, and back, as though she was thinking what to do.

He wondered if this meant enough to her that she'd give all her mother's gifts up. Finally, she seemed to have settled on a decision.

She nodded, but didn't give any indication as to what her decision had been. Then she gestured that he follow her.

"They aren't here."she told him. "Setsie!"she called for one of her cats.

The cat Terry knew to be Setsie walked toward them.

"We can't get them without Setsie's help."she explained.

"What do you need the cat for?"

Helena ignored his question.

Finally, the cat stopped, and jumped onto a shelf. Helena reached for its collar, and took one of the many charms hanging from it.

Terry had always assumed the cats wore charms simply for looks, but apparently Helena had a practical use for them, too. There must have been a lock or a door somewhere on the wall, because Helena used the charm as though it were a key, and the door opened, exposing number of items.

"Your cat's charm is a key?"

"Maybe."Helena answered, hanging it back on Setsie's collar.

How many more, and what other uses did she have for her cats? It was a pretty clever hiding place. Especially that her cat carried the key to it.

Probably no one would ever think it could be a cat's charm, and if they did, Terry knew these cats were excellent at finding hiding places, and avoiding getting caught.

"Are these all of them?"he asked.

Helena hung the charm back on the cat's collar.

"There are many, many more. This is only a very small part."

"What about all the rest?"he wanted to know.

"Oh, no!"Helena shook her head. "These are yours if you want them. Right now. The rest you won't see, at least not now. You take these, and do with them whatever you like. They're yours. I give you the others another time."

"When?"

"It depends. You're asking a _very_ high price. However, I have decided that each and every last one of these objects is worth what I will be getting in return. By the time I finish, I will have given you all of them. I honestly have no clue as to who the owners may be. I know where _Mai_ got them from, but I never really cared to look into who may have owned them before, or anything like that. I never really cared."

She sighed, and looked at them once more, before starting to take them out.


	17. Chapter 17

"Helena said she'll give me the others later."

Terry brought the entire array Helena had given him to the Bat Cave. He picked up a pair of earrings.

"Will you believe she never wears them because she said they're too special for every day wear?"he commented. "It really sounded like they meant a lot to her."

"Because Selina stole them."Bruce said.

Terry remembered how Helena had handled the items so carefully. He'd never seen anyone talk and handle objects almost as though they were people.

But then Helena also treated her cats the same way anyone else would have treated a person. It shouldn't have surprised him that she did the same with these items, too. Especially because they had been given to her by her mother.

"I guess finding out who the owners are shouldn't be that hard? She told me just when and where Lady Selina got them."

Terry said just which particular robbery the Lady had gotten these, and from where. Helena had given him all the details. He didn't need to ask. She'd told him on her own initiative.

"I almost didn't think she would part with them so easily."he continued.

"It probably wasn't easy. Selina also attached a lot of value to her things."Bruce remembered.

Fortunately, it hadn't taken Helena's life to be in danger to get her to agree to return them to the owners, he thought.

"I guess the Lady wouldn't be happy to know she gave them away?"

Although Terry couldn't imagine Lady Selina ever getting upset with Helena.

"Although there was one portrait that was hidden behind a curtain."he remembered.

"One of Selina's portraits hidden behind a curtain? That seems very uncharacteristic of her."

"I thought the same, but it sometimes upset her to look at it."Terry explained. "But she didn't say why. Only that it that it was significant.

"Significant in what way?"

"She never said. These were locked, and her cat wore the 'key'."Terry returned to the items.

"Wore it?"

"It was one of its charms."

"Do you think the price we're paying is too high?"Helena asked Adela.

Helena looked sadly at the same place, where just before, her mother's things had been. No, not her mother's…Helena decided to dismiss that. What good did it do to try to work out whose they really were? People had the weirdest notions.

"I guess we should have expected that from the very start. As if anyone was perfect! _Mai _only has faults like anyone else's!"

She looked around the room. Only her pets were perfect, she thought. Them and the rest of their species. She certainly understood just why the ancient Egyptians worshipped them.

"You get done on a black canvas. I ordered it specially. I got the oddest looks. But it will be easier the way. As it will be so dark. What would you like for the background?"she asked.

Several cats gathered around the room. They loved to see Helena work. They would crowd around her, their eyes following the movement of her arm, as she moved the paintbrush. Or watching the progress she made on the canvas.

"She's going in chronological order."Bruce noticed. "In the order they were stolen."

"That should make it easier, shouldn't it? You know, she seems to open up more. I've gotten to know her better this way, than if I'd asked her directly."

"Her work probably relaxes her."

"I never thought I would get to actually do something like this."Helena said, adding the final touch, signing her name. "Now, then, there's just one more piece for you."

They walked back into the room where she kept the portraits of her mother.

It never ceased to surprise him, whenever she took any of the stolen items out. She was certainly very astute when it came to coming up with hiding places. It could take forever, Terry thought.

Helena had so many cats, and each cat had so many charms, and wore different charms all the time. Certainly no one would ever have thought to look in the places where she hid them.

Much less suspect the charms. If they did, they probably wouldn't be able to work out which charm went where. How many of those charms could be more than just simple kitty charms?

"This,"she said. "is the final one."

"There's no more?"

Helena shook her head.

"No more. I gave you my word, didn't I?"she said. "You know,"she sounded surprised. "I really think they were worth it."


	18. Chapter 18

Helena thought she was more than content to have given everything of her mother's away. After all, she'd gotten something just as valuable and priceless in return, hadn't she?

"And you know,"she was saying to Adela, as she hung up the portrait. "I think we got even more than we could ever have hoped for."

Helena sat on the floor, among her cats. It seemed they looked just as pleased as she was. She stroked Adela absentmindedly.

"I did think we got more than we hoped for. But what I think we got…is just a…idea, a perception, of mine? Because what I think we got is completely impossible."


End file.
